Inventory & Warehouse Management
Overview
Inventory is often one of the largest assets an organisation holds, yet it is rarely managed as carefully as cash. Too much stock ties up money and space and leads to waste and obsolescence. Too little stops operations, delays projects and frustrates customers. Poor warehouse layout and inaccurate records add hidden costs, losses and delays to every transaction.
This inventory and warehouse management course gives practical tools to keep the right stock in the right place at the right cost. Participants learn to classify inventory, set reorder levels and safety stock, organise receiving, storage and dispatch, and improve accuracy through cycle counting and controls. They also use KPIs, lean practices and data tools to plan continuous improvement.
Who should attend
Inventory controllers, warehouse and stores managers, supply chain and procurement staff, and logistics officers in government stores, utilities and commercial organisations.
Training methodology
Interactive presentations, practical exercises, case studies, group discussions, role-plays where relevant, and a personal action plan that participants apply in their own work.
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Classify inventory and set appropriate stock policies
- Apply reorder levels, safety stock and economic order quantity
- Organise warehouse layout, receiving, storage and dispatch
- Improve accuracy through cycle counting and stock audits
- Measure and improve inventory and warehouse performance
Course outline
- The role of inventory in the supply chain
- Types of inventory and why each is held
- Hidden costs of holding and ordering stock
- ABC and XYZ analysis for setting priorities
- Inventory policies for different item types
- Review: your current stock problems
- Demand forecasting basics for stock planners
- Setting reorder levels using lead times
- Calculating safety stock for uncertain demand
- Economic order quantity and its practical limits
- Managing slow-moving and obsolete stock
- Exercise: set reorder parameters for items
- Warehouse layout and efficient material flow
- Receiving, inspection and goods acceptance procedures
- Storage methods and bin location systems
- Efficient picking, packing and dispatch
- Health and safety risks in the warehouse
- Workshop: improve a warehouse layout
- Accurate stock records and item coding
- Cycle counting versus annual stocktaking
- Investigating and resolving stock discrepancies
- Controls against loss, theft and fraud
- What a warehouse management system can do
- Exercise: plan a cycle counting programme
- Inventory turnover, days of stock and service levels
- Key performance indicators for warehouses
- Applying lean practices in stores and warehouses
- Data and AI tools for stock planning
- Building a practical improvement plan
- Build your inventory action plan
Upcoming dates and fees
No public dates are scheduled for this course at the moment. It can be delivered in-house for your team at your premises or in a city of your choice, or scheduled on request in London, Dubai or Istanbul. Contact us for dates and fees.
training@british-skills.co.uk · +447700100602 · www.british-skills.co.uk/training-course/inventory-warehouse-management